What actions have been tried to improve ESL schools?
Groups of volunteers from the University of Illinois helped clean up East St. Louis. Faculty members and more than a hundred student from the University came to East St. Louis with a good amount of tools such as hammers, paint brushes, and other tools to help improve the schools. This was a program set up by the UI which included plenty physical labor.
"We've been able to build new schools, hire quality teachers and get our curriculum on track," says Superintendent Theresa Saunders who has been the head of the schools for four years. While it is well known throughout the nation of the cities poor school system and economic poverty, the local news station KMOV has made numerous reports on the crime, poverty, and lack of adequate funding for schools in East St. Louis. The publicity has helped make people aware that something like this could in fact occur in present day America where most of us could never imagine such a disaster. KMOV has reported notable attempts at bettering the schools and a decrease in crime. At two charter schools in East St. Louis special ed services which had once been denied were finally given.
Alysa Dempsey How could the government allow schools like the ones in ESL to happen?
"In March of 1989, a task force appointed by Governor James Thompson noted that the city was in debt by more than $40 million, and proposed emergency state loans to pay for garbage collection and to keep police and fire departments in continued operation. The governor, however, blamed the mayor and his administrators, almost all of whom were black, and refused to grant the loans unless the mayor resigned. Thompson's response, said a Republican state legislator, "made my heart feel good.... It's unfortunate, but the essence of the problem in East St. Louis is the people" who are running things."
Basically in this situation, they are playing the blame game. No one wanted to act upon the situation and be the one to have to fix everything.
Groups of volunteers from the University of Illinois helped clean up East St. Louis. Faculty members and more than a hundred student from the University came to East St. Louis with a good amount of tools such as hammers, paint brushes, and other tools to help improve the schools. This was a program set up by the UI which included plenty physical labor.
"We've been able to build new schools, hire quality teachers and get our curriculum on track," says Superintendent Theresa Saunders who has been the head of the schools for four years. While it is well known throughout the nation of the cities poor school system and economic poverty, the local news station KMOV has made numerous reports on the crime, poverty, and lack of adequate funding for schools in East St. Louis. The publicity has helped make people aware that something like this could in fact occur in present day America where most of us could never imagine such a disaster. KMOV has reported notable attempts at bettering the schools and a decrease in crime. At two charter schools in East St. Louis special ed services which had once been denied were finally given.
R20-year-old partnership with East St. Louis reaps many benefits for residents, students. . Retrieved September 15, 2008, from http://www.news.uiuc.edu/news/07/07f_pm_eslarp.html.
‘Left Behind: The Failure of East St. Louis Schools’ - TVWeek - News. . Retrieved September 15, 2008, from http://www.tvweek.com/news/2008/01/left_behind_the_failure_of_eas.php.
All but 3 East St. Louis schools achieve proficiency ratings. . Retrieved September 15, 2008, from http://www.bnd.com/news/education/story/451424.html.
Alysa Dempsey
How could the government allow schools like the ones in ESL to happen?
"In March of 1989, a task force appointed by Governor James Thompson noted that the city was in debt by more than $40 million, and proposed emergency state loans to pay for garbage collection and to keep police and fire departments in continued operation. The governor, however, blamed the mayor and his administrators, almost all of whom were black, and refused to grant the loans unless the mayor resigned. Thompson's response, said a Republican state legislator, "made my heart feel good.... It's unfortunate, but the essence of the problem in East St. Louis is the people" who are running things."
Basically in this situation, they are playing the blame game. No one wanted to act upon the situation and be the one to have to fix everything.
SI Kozol St. Louis, Illinois. . Retrieved September 15, 2008, from http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Third_World_US/SI_Kozol_StLouis.html.